Jessica Mullins, who owns the World Eye Bookshop and Magical Child toy store in Greenfield, Mass., is moving the bookstore into the toy store by the end of February because of "declining sales and an upcoming rent increase at the bookstore," the Recorder reported.
"It's sad, it's exciting, it's necessary for us," Mullins told the paper. "It's either move or have to close, so I think moving is a good choice in that case. We want to keep it going and keep doing what we're doing." She indicated that book sales have dropped 18% from 2015 to 2016.
Mullins has owned World Eye for nearly six years and bought Magical Child a year ago when it was in danger of closing. The stores are near one another on Main Street.
In the combined space, Mullins plans to offer the same amount of books on fewer bookcases, with more spine-out than face-out, and have fewer toys on the shelves. "We're going to try to keep the feel of World Eye as the dominant feeling, and then have a lot of the toys integrated," she said. For example, the toy store's microscopes might be placed with science books, and stuffed animals could be paired with appropriate children's books.